ATLANTA—Westwood Financial Corp. is already one of the largest privately held owner-operators of grocery-anchored retail properties in the United States. Now, it just got a little bit bigger.

Westwood snapped up Retreat Village, a 108,600-square-foot neighborhood shopping center at 220 Retreat Village in Saint Simons Island, GA. Westwood acquired the retail asset from Pace Properties and Somera Capital Management. Richard Reed, managing director with HFF, represented the sellers in the transaction.

“Retreat Village is a fixture in the Saint Simons Island and Sea Island resort communities and has a long history of high occupancy, making it a prime investment property to add to our expanding Southeast portfolio,” Joe Dykstra, executive vice president of Westwood, tells GlobeSt.com. “As a core plus property in a market where commercial real estate rarely changes hands, we see Retreat Village being a part of our portfolio for years to come.”

Retreat Village is 97% leased. It is located at the gateway of the high-end resort communities of Saint Simons Island and Sea Island and is one of only two grocery-anchored centers serving the surrounding area. The retail center has retained 94% or higher occupancy for the past seven years.

Built in 1977, and remodeled in 2005, Retreat Village Winn-Dixie anchors the shopping center. National tenants like H&H Lifestyles, Bonefish Grill, Edwin Watts Golf, AT&T, Great Clips, Subway, Burger King, and Verizon Wireless also call the shopping center home. Rated as a Five-Star Resort by Forbes Travel Guide, St. Simons Island and Sea Island attracts tourists from all over the world and has a population size of 14,947 with an average household income of $92,658.

Retreat Village is now one of Westwood's 20-plus shopping centers in the Southeast. Nationally, the firm owns and operates over 115 shopping centers and retail properties.